42 Saturday, January 25, 2014 1R HQ WORRY OVER RISING NUMBER OF CASES MULLIGAN ...deadly CUNNINGHAM ...trip John the Old rivals lookout will be up for May to Ant-ics WALSH CUP SEMIS FBD LEAGUE TOMORROW (All 2pm) JOHN KILKENNY VGALWAY LEITRIM v Freshford HARRINGTON PROBE ...Keyhole GALWAY boss Anthony ROSCOMMON operation pic shows a Cunningham believes PATRICK CARTON is the surgeon labral tear, like one of there could be ‘a bit of By GORDON MANNING SURGERY ... shadow boxing’ in many suffered by top Freshford tomorrow. who deserves ashare of credit GAA stars of today Waterford’s ROSCOMMON boss John Stephen Kilkenny and Galway for Clare’s All-Ireland glory. will probably be seeing Evans feels both teams in The Waterford-based doc per- Bennett (right) had ahip op each other acouple of tomorrow’s FBD League formed operations on Banner more times this year. final will have one eye on pair Conor McGrath and The sides will cross the Championship. Darach Honan in the last year. swords in Division 1A of The Rossies, who beat And his careful cuts proved crucial the league on March 9. Mayo last weekend, face as the pair knocked in late goals to If they both win their Leitrim in the decider in clinch victory over aresurgent Cork AWAWARMARM Leinster quarter-finals Carrick-on-Shannon. in September’s replayed final. SURGERYSURGERY they will meet in apro- But the sides are also Chronic hip injuries had threatened FEELINGFEELING ...... vincial semi-final in June. due to meet in the Con- to ground both inter-county careers The Cats were X-rayX-ray shows shows hip hip untested by DIT last nacht Championship on before they had fully taken flight. abnormalityabnormality May 18 and Evans says But Carton’s pioneering form of key- week, running out 5-23 hole hip surgery sent them soaring. to 1-9 winners. Galway that adds extra interest to had to battle to beat proceedings. McGrath and Honan are not the only two members of the Clare team Offaly, 1-14 to 1-13. He added: “Leitrim have Carton has operated on. Both managers are certainly been showing But he will not reveal the names looking at players but form —they won the FBD of the others who have not gone pub- Galway remain without last year, so it’s another lic themselves about the surgery. their Portumna contin- challenge and good prepa- Davy Fitzgerald’s champions are gent —including Joe Can- ration for us.” not the only team who have bene- ning and Damien Hayes. fited from his services either. PADDY POWER ODDS: Kilkenny 4-9 Gal- History The number of hurlers and football- way 15-8 Draw 10-1 ers he has operated on in Whitfield VERDICT: Kilkenny For the Ridge County Clinic gets longer by the week. WEXFORD VDUBLIN there is the added incen- Carton told SunSport: “The vast Gorey tive of making history by majority of inter-county hurlers and ANTHONY DALY has made becoming the first team footballers who have had hip prob- wholesale changes to his Dublin team from the from the county to suc- lems would come through our unit. LIAM O’NEILL admits the rise in By JOHN HARRINGTON cessfully defend atitle. “We had good success with Clare hip surgeries among elite young side which beat UCD last year because we operated on a versities in the Sigerson and Fitz- during the week. And both finalists also hurlers and footballers is a Simon Timlin, Matthew have important league number of their team and they ended gibbon Cups. O’Neill is worried up winning the All-Ireland. major worry. that adangerous workload is being McCaffrey, Shane Durkin, campaigns coming up. Matthew Quilty, Robbie Roscommon will be hop- Waterford’s All-Ireland-win- put on players at certain times of Seal ning minor hurler Stephen Ben- the calendar. McMahon, Eamon Dillon ing to gain promotion nett is one of anumber of He said: “It’s still aconcern and and Mark Schutte come from Division 3. “Itwas the same with Kilkenny ing from hip surgery, as are Kildare lives who require surgeries in their develop. The Kildare panel are going underage players who had dou- I’m trying to conduct an exercise in to face Wexford. While Leitrim must theyear before, so our track record trio Eamonn Callaghan, Eoin Doyle 40s and 50s. to get involved in it and that should ble-hip ops in the last year. with counties where we want them Liam Dunne’s Wexford emerge from Division 4if is good at the moment. and Niall Kelly. “This surgery will hopefully allow happen in the next few weeks. And O’Neill insists that is to tell us their full list of games hammered NUI Galway they are to make any sig- “The surgery we’ve developed is And the average age of inter- thehip to be shaped more normally, “So there’s no doubt the GAA are “one too many”. for last year. 4-22 to 0-7 last week nificant progress over the unique and I’ve presented it to vari- county GAA players requiring hip let the athletes back to their sport and making efforts to look at this and The GAA president told “Then we’ll be able to see at and will hope to build on that momentum. coming years. ous international conferences over surgery is getting LOWER. put off that eventual hip replacement.” address it, which is very important. SunSport: “You have to what points of the year we’re load- the last few years. Carton (below) believes GAA hip “I expect that over the next few worry what are they going ing too many games on players. But Daly’s charges They host Antrim in Last year Waterford’s Stephen Ben- BEEN THERE ... should be fighting for “It’s called alabral cuff repair. Basi- nett —thought to be the best minor injuries have been misdiagnosed and years there’ll be changes in the tim- to be walking like when “I think we’ll find huge gaps in their league opener on cally the structure that gets damaged Cork footballer their places and that Sunday February 2and hurler in the country —underwent mistreated for years. ing and intensity of training as well they’re older. the calendar and also periods of in the hips of most of these guys is He says one of the reasons there as when they introduce competitions. Damien Cahalane huge loading. It will have to be might be the difference. boss Seán Hagan said: double hip surgery. Duty PADDY POWER ODDS: Wexford 11-8 the seal aroundthe hip —the labrum He is just one of many in his are now more hip surgeries is “I’m more than happy to get and Kilkennny graphically illustrated though, “The whole thing is —which is avital structure in the hip. involved with the GAA and other hurling ace Richie because most people can’t see it Dublin 8-13 Draw 10-1 geared towards the Nat- age group and Carton says that is because the correct cause of groin “I’ve said it to clubs and VERDICT: Dublin “We’ve developed aunique way because some young sportsmen are problems like Gilmore’s and Osteitis sporting bodies to look at ways of Power have gone unless it is put in front of them. ional League, to get our of protecting that during the county boards wherever I’ve WATERFORD more prone to it than others. Pubis is being identified. trying to educatepeople, and work under the knife gone, it’s our duty to put “That’s why we’re in the mess best team starting against surgery by removing alot He explained: “The vast on ways of minimising the risk to we’re in —because we haven’t CRYSTAL SEMIS of bone from the hip and Welfare the young guys coming through.” the player first. Antrim.” There’s no majority of the younger “I’ve said to any person in looked at it. People are very slow CLARE VUCC Leitrim will look to then restoring and repair- patients would have acer- Carton has already begun to notice to give us information but the Sixmilebridge ing the labrum at the It cannot be acoincidence either agrowing awareness of hip injuries charge of young teams that Emlyn Mulligan to lead doubt the GAA tain shape of hip that they’re working in child- more they resist me the more I DAVY FITZGERALD’S Clare end of the procedure. causes conflict in the that hip and groin injuries have and how they should be treated in want to get it. showed some decent their attack tomorrow “By doing it this way care whether they like against aside high on con- ball and the socket dur- become more common alongside the the GAA community. “If last year’s didn’t work and early season form to we’ve had agreat level growing intensity of training at all He added: “We’ve spent the last six that description or we stick with the same schedule fidenceafter beating Mayo. are making efforts ing sports. not.” beat Limerick 1-14 to of success. “The more sports they levels in the last 10 years. years teaching physios and doctors this year, then what message does 0-11 last weekend. PADDY POWER ODDS: Leitrim 9-4, Ros- “We’ve got guys back Carton accepts that prevention is how to diagnose the condition. At this time of common 4-9, Draw 15-2. to look at this and play and the more inten- that send out about how we’re Fitzgerald’s men are on the field who afew just as important as acure and “A lot of the physios are getting year many of the looking at games? VERDICT: Roscommon.